Cornish & Chepstow Bead Fairs & Autumn Jewellery

Cornish & Chepstow Bead Fairs & Autumn Jewellery

See us next weekend in London at Kentish Town on Saturday 23rd Sept or Sunday 24th in Essex at Great Bromley. Click link below for details.

We have many new beads just arrived in the UK – Say you’re a MrBead Newsletter Reader for free gifts! We’re at over 30 shows this year, all with a bigger display: all our 2017 beads fairs.

Key FREEPOST in checkout for free shipping on UK orders over £30 at MrBead.co.uk
Or international customers, key AUTUMN at checkout for FREE SHIPPING off all orders over US$40 at MrBead.com before Friday 22nd September.

Cornish & Chepstow Bead Fairs

Once again we took a few days holiday between two weekend-bead fairs. This time, four-days break from our show in Wadebridge, and the Rock ‘n’ Gem Fair at Chepstow.

The Cornish show went well, despite a new location at the John Betjeman Centre and few visitors. Beaders were keen! Afterwards we stayed in Newquay where it felt like Australia with so many surfers walking the streets barefoot, shirtless with surfboards at the side.

Between the shows we camped at the Lizard for excellent cliff-top walks with a friend from Hong Kong. Fantastic alfresco cafe at Britain’s most southerly point.

Chepstow wasn’t so good. Sunday was busier than the Saturday, it’s usually the other way round. At least I can work online while waiting for customers – but a last minute rush saved the day. However, I don’t think we’ll return next year.

Unknowingly I booked a hotel the wrong side of the Seven Bridge, costing £13.40 a day to take the van back over to the show-side!

See us next in London on 23rd September or the next day in Essex: 2017 Bead Fairs.

Autumn Jewellery

Autumn is a great time to make some classy seasonal jewellery. Amber is ideal for this time of year, along with all types of brown, dark greens, gold, and misty yellow.

Pearls, nature’s treasure from the deep, can be very effective mixed with other beads – especially as they come in autumn colours too. Let these fabulous fall colours with a touch of gold capture your imagination as well as your eye.

Try mixing contrasting colours like brown and gold with blues and green. Some of the most popular gemstones that make fabulous autumn jewellery are listed below.

Gems For the Fall

To see any of these gemstones in our UK store, just click the picture.

AgateAgate is the obvious stone for autumn jewellery. It forms by filling a cavity in its host rock, resulting in round nodules, with bands like the rings of a tree trunk, looking like eyes. Agate was highly valued as a talisman in ancient times and has been used as a traveler’s amulet for centuries.

It is believed to bring good fortune, health, wealth and long life. Some call its strange patterns ‘cosmic caterpillar tracks’. Others’ swear that wearing these beads can heighten the spiritual consciousness and balance the body’s physical and mental states.

CarnelianAnother stone from the quartz family, usually bright orange to reddish orange. Carnelian is for confidence. Carnelian is in tune with the energies of the Earth, making you feel anchored and comfortable with your environment.

A good stone for people starting new projects or who feel they are going nowhere. It motivates, allowing you to find the energy to make the most out of life. Said to help blood disorders and eliminate toxins from the body.

Citrine”Citrine” comes from the French word for lemon, and is any quartz crystal or cluster that’s yellow to orange. The darker, orange colours were traditionally the best, but today people prefer bright lemony shades to mix with pastel colours.

Sunny citrine brightens all jewellery, blending especially well with the yellow gleam of polished gold. The yellow colour is a natural reviver, and citrine focuses the mind bringing a feeling of self-esteem.

CoralCoral was long thought to be a strong talisman against evil spirits and hurricanes. It is also said to reduce blood flow. Naturally its colour ranges from white to red, but most red coral these days is dyed. However, these days almost any colour can be made by dying white coral. It grows in branches that look like underwater trees.

Flake StoneThe most common flaked stone is goldstone which is ideal for autumn jewellery. A man-made stone, first created by alchemists trying to make gold – however, all material has properties, these are transmitter stones. Causing light to pass through you in order to convey or receive a medium. Revitalizing, energizing, and encouraging a positive attitude and individualism.

JadeFor 5,000 years Imperial China used the word “jade” as something precious. Because jade is said to have all the attributes most valued in society. A symbol of purity and serenity, it is delicate, but will not break – is beautiful, but not impermanent, it can be flawed with lines, but still pleasing.

It is believed to radiate divine unconditional love and balance the emotions. The most famous type of jade carved in China is from Burma, with shades of green, lavender, yellow, white and grey.

JasperJasper was highly valued in ancient times, not only for its beauty, but also for its magical and medicinal properties. Jasper is known as the “patron stone of counselors and healers”.

Red jasper is an intensely protective stone, stabilizing the aura and bringing contentment. Poppy jasper is dark red with black flecks. Picture jasper is pale brown with darker patterns – named from pictures formed by patterns caused by trapped fossilizes algae. Fancy jasper is creamy brown with lavender or green swirls.

Lapis LazuliThis gemstone is straight out of fairy tales of the Arabian Nights: deepest blue with golden shining Pyrite inclusions which twinkle like little stars. Through the ages, lapis has been associated with power, wisdom, and love.

The twinkling inclusions are not gold but pyrite, caused by iron. The blue colour comes from the sulfuric content of lazurite. For many people lapis is a stone of truth and friendship. A powerful gemstone that should not be worn by those who lack strength of character.

Malachite & RhodoniteMalachite is green with irregular black banding. Its green stripes have the ability to soothe and bring rest – helping sleep, meditation, the circulation and balancing emotions. The copper content helps rheumatism. The magic of malachite is also thought to attract love and wealth. Some say malachite travels the world in search of energies to change.

Rhodonite is usually pink to red or orange, very popular in 18th-century Russia where it was used extensively to decorate the Russian court. Rhodonite has similar properties to malachite.

Natural freshwater pearls occur in mussels for the same reason saltwater pearls occur in oysters. Foreign material inside a mussel can’t be expelled. To reduce irritation, the mollusk coats the intruder with the same secretion it uses for shell-building, nacre. To cultivate a pearl, farmers slit the mussel and insert small pieces of live tissue from another mussel.

Freshwater pearls are popular for their colours: white, silvery-white, pink, red, copper, brown, lavender, purple, green, blue, and yellow. These are usually dyed these days.

Tiger EyeTiger’s-eye is polished to show its characteristic band of pearly luminescence, resulting from light reflecting off its thin parallel inclusions in the quartz. Colours range from a rich golden yellow to dark brown. Tiger’s-Eye is good for those worried about health. It also builds will-power and inner-strength.

Click the picture for more details of each stone inside our bead shop.

Exhibit at a MrBead ShowWe have limited space available for crafters in Essex:Essex Bead Show on Sunday 24th September at http://mrbead.co.uk/essexbeadfair.htm. If interested, email Nigel at nigel@MrBead.com